


follow me (like you're bewitched)

by hyungsobbing



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, au where dy doesn't run his mouth every 5 seconds, delinquent & good boy trope but w a lil twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 03:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20464190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyungsobbing/pseuds/hyungsobbing
Summary: Somewhere between being a straight-A student and president of the student council, Jung Jaehyun meets Kim Doyoung.





	follow me (like you're bewitched)

The first time they meet, it’s at a convenience store just around the corner of Jaehyun’s house. It’s nine in the evening, and Jaehyun stops by the store to buy a popsicle on his way home from cram school. The store is empty apart from the tired cashier, who doesn’t even look up from his phone. Jaehyun heads straight to the frozen section, rummaging through the packets until he finds his popsicle.

The bell rings, signaling a new entrance, and Jaehyun looks up curiously. He wouldn’t call the part of town he lived in deserted because it’s a small town and there’s only so little places that can be considered secluded, but it’s definitely not one of the more popular areas. A boy around his height, hood pulled over his head, heads straight to the drinks section, picking up two packets of instant noodles.

He turns, and Jaehyun catches a glimpse of his face. The boy has a narrow chin and thin lips, but his hoodie casts a shadow on the rest of his face, so he can’t see much else. It’s not a face he’s seen around before, though, so he approaches the boy, putting on his friendliest smile. “Hi, you must be new around here, I don’t think I’ve met you before. I’m Jaehyun!”

Jaehyun tilts his head curiously when the boy doesn’t respond immediately, eyes flicking from his face down to the packets of instant noodles in his grip. “That can’t be too healthy.” He comments, silently urging the boy to reply.

The boy lets out a huff, shoulders rising sharply. “I don’t think you want to be associated with me, Jaehyun.” He says, words acerbic and tone stilted. Jaehyun startles, and opens his mouth to ask him what exactly he was implying, but the boy was already ringing up his purchases at the counter and walking out of the store.

_Weird, _he thinks, and shrugs, biting into his popsicle as he exits the store.

-

He reaches school half an hour before the bell rings, leaving his bag in his classroom and heading down to the general office. Ten is already there, and greets him with a tired nod, handing over the list of announcements to be made that morning. “Where’s Yuta?” Jaehyun asks distractedly as he scans through the list, picking out the more important ones at a glance.

“Probably overslept or something. He was supposed to help me count and settle the donation money from the carnival, that asshole.” Ten grumbles, scowling. “I swear, he only turns up when he wants to.”

Jaehyun’s about to reply when the glass door swings open, and a student shuffles in. He doesn’t have a nametag yet, and Jaehyun concludes that he’s probably the new transfer student that the student council teacher in charge had told him of. “Do you need help?” He offers.

The student finally lifts up his head, casting a sideways glance at Jaehyun. He starts, recognizing the narrow face shape and thin lips from the previous night, and as he looks downwards, he notices the same scuffed shoes as the boy was wearing the previous night. “Oh, you’re the one I met at the convenience store last night!” He realises.

He nods his head once, and walks to the front of the office. “Kim Doyoung?” The staff at the desks asks, and he nods. “Just a second, let me get your schedule.” Doyoung shrugs, and it’s then that Jaehyun notices the deathly-looking eyebags lining his eyes, and winces in sympathy. “Man, he looks like a zombie,” Ten mutters, echoing Jaehyun’s sentiments. Doyoung seems to hear them, because he turns around, arching an eyebrow at them. Jaehyun laughs awkwardly, elbowing Ten in the side.

“What? I’m just saying, dude, you really should be getting more sleep.” Ten directs this at Doyoung, who scoffs slightly. The staff returns with his timetable. “Doyoung, you have Economics first block, followed by Korean Literature, Calculus and Chemistry. Do you know how to read the timetable?”

“Yeah, I do.” Doyoung says shortly, and Jaehyun is hit with the intrusive thought of _wow, he has a beautiful voice._ “Can you get to your first class alone?” She asks, and Doyoung frowns slightly.

“I have Literature first block too, I can take him!” Jaehyun pipes up, and the staff smiles at him. “That’s great! Doyoung, this is Jaehyun, our student council president. Just wait for him until after morning announcements, and he can bring you to the classroom.”

“I know who he is.” Doyoung says, not even sparing a look at Jaehyun. Ten snickers at him. “Great, that’s settled!” She claps, returning to her work on the office desktop.

Doyoung sits at the chair one seat away from Jaehyun, and he can’t help but feel slightly hurt. “So, Doyoung, why did you transfer here?” Ten asks, leaning over Jaehyun.

“Reasons.” Is what Doyoung answers, and Jaehyun shivers slightly from the bite in his voice. Ten seems to notice this as well, because he shuts up and leans back into his own seat, and doesn’t attempt to make conversation again.

He finishes the morning announcements, and tilts his head towards Doyoung. “We only have five minutes to get in class, we should get going now.” He says, and Doyoung stands up, waiting for Jaehyun to go in front. When they fall into step outside the office, Jaehyun realises his previous assumption was incorrect—they weren’t the same height, Doyoung being just a few centimeters shorter than him.

“Are you usually this quiet?” Jaehyun tries to break the ice, and Doyoung, for the first time, looks at him and maintains eye contact for a few seconds. “You really don’t know anything about me at all, huh, Jung Jaehyun?” He says, an undercurrent of suspicion in his voice.

“No, why would I know anything about you? You’re new to this town, isn’t it?” Jaehyun hazards a guess, but Doyoung doesn’t speak to him at all for the rest of the walk to class.

They reach just on time, and the teacher is already beginning to do roll call. “Ah, you must be Kim Doyoung!” Mr Moon says, eyes kind. “Can you do a little self-introduction to the class?” Jaehyun shoots him an encouraging glance which Doyoung ignores, and he heads to his seat in the corner.

“I’m Kim Doyoung.” He says after a few beats of stifling silence, and his piercing eyes sweep over the students in the classroom. “Yes, please take care of him! Doyoung, there’s an empty seat at the back, you can sit there.” Mr Moon says.

“Did you hear?” Hyunjoon, his deskmate, whispers. “About what?”

“Kim Doyoung. Apparently, he killed someone in his old town, and he moved here to escape the police and the victim’s family.” Hyunjoon says in a hushed tone, and Jaehyun is unable to stop a startled laugh from escaping him.

“Sorry, you said he was a killer?” Jaehyun asks, and Hyunjoon nods frantically.

“I mean, he’s cold and all, but I don’t think the school would let him in if he’s a killer.” Jaehyun says, tone reassuring, but judging by the suspicious glint in his eyes when he looks at Doyoung, Hyunjoon isn’t convinced.

-

“So, I heard that Kim Doyoung killed his parents, and he’s living alone.” Is the first thing Taeyong says when he sits down at the lunch table, blowing strands of hair out of his face.

“No, dude, you’ve got it wrong. Doyoung’s father killed his mother, and then Doyoung killed his father.” Ten pitches in, sitting on Jaehyun’s left.

“Wait, I thought Doyoung was caught selling drugs and then assaulted the police that caught him, and now he’s on the run.” Yuta scratches his head, confused.

Jaehyun sighs exasperatedly, balancing a piece of mushy chicken on his chopsticks. “I don’t think a killer would be able to evade the law so easily.” He mumbles through his mouthful of chicken. Yuta tsks, shaking his head. “You’ll be surprised what desperate people do to escape the law.”

Ten snaps suddenly, pointing an accusing finger at Yuta. “Don’t pretend that you didn’t turn up in the morning to settle the money from the donations! You ass, I had to drag Joy to help me, and she almost killed me for that.” He shudders.

Yuta shrugs unapologetically. “I overslept.”

“I knew it!” Ten screeches, and Taeyong shushes him when they see the people sitting at the table in front of them turn around.

“Don’t you think Doyoung’s kind of cute?” Jaehyun blurts out the question that had been floating around in his head the entire day. “Oh, I can see what you mean, I guess. His face doesn’t really match his demeanor. In the morning in the office, when I asked him that question, I thought he was going to murder me and dispose of my body or something.” Ten says, pulling a face.

It’s Jaehyun’s turn to sigh now, shaking his head at his friend as Yuta starts begging Taeyong to let him copy his Chemistry assignment.

-

“Honey, do you know of the boy that recently moved into town? I think his name is Doyoung.” His mother mentions over dinner, and Jaehyun swallows quickly, nodding. “He’s in a few of my classes.”

His mother gasps. “Don’t talk to him, okay? My friends were telling me that he has no parents—no parents at all, just a younger brother! I wonder what he did wrong to deserve such a broken family. Do you think he’s on the wrong side of the law?”

Jaehyun begins to open his mouth, ready to defend Doyoung and say that as cold as the boy was, he really wasn’t as bad as everyone seemed to make him out to be.

“My boss told me that he was,” His father looks around, lowering his voice, “_Gay_.” He spits out the word like a curse, and Jaehyun barely stops himself from flinching at the venom in his words.

“That’s horrible. Maybe that’s why his parents abandoned him.” His mother shudders, and Jaehyun swallows, throat suddenly dry. “Under no circumstances will you interact with him, alright? We can’t have him infecting our son.” His mother warns. Jaehyun nods jerkily, heart racing so fast he’s afraid his parents can hear it.

“Yeah, I won’t.” He agrees easily.

-

He slips into the classroom just as the bell rings, hurrying to his seat as Mr Hwang walks in, marked quizzes stacked in his arms. Hyunjoon groans as he spots the quizzes. “Man, I failed that one so terribly. My parents are going to kill me when they find out I’m failing Calculus.” Jaehyun hums, uninterested, thoughts elsewhere. He tips his chair backwards slightly, using it as an opportunity to steal a glance at Doyoung.

Said boy has his head pillowed on crossed arms, eyes closed firmly. Joy has her chair scooted away from him, and there’s an obvious gap between their desks. Doyoung shuffles to the front when Mr Hwang calls his name, pointedly turning his back when the teacher tells him to work harder, frown etched on his face.

Jaehyun cocks his head quizzically, eyes tracking Doyoung’s movement. Did he not care about his grades? “That new guy is really weird.” Hyunjoon mutters grumpily, his quiz paper marked with numerous red crosses.

“Good job as always, Jaehyun. You’re really aiming for that valedictorian position, huh?” Mr Hwang says, grinning as he hands back Jaehyun’s quiz, marked with a big ninety-six at the top corner. Jaehyun dips his head politely and heads back to his seat, not noticing the pair of eyes staring sharply at him.

Time passes slowly, and Jaehyun has to duck his head to hide his yawns multiple times. When the lunch bell finally rings, Hyunjoon is the first to shoot out of his seat, shouting something about mystery meat on the lunch menu. Students file out of the classroom after him, but Jaehyun remains in his seat, eyes fixed on the sleeping form of Doyoung at the back.

He pulls out his packed lunchbox, and takes his time exiting by the back door. As he passes Doyoung, his gaze brushes over the boy. The collar of his school uniform is tattered and slightly grey, and it’s obvious that it isn’t new. He’s about to continue walking out when he catches a discoloration on Doyoung’s neck, and he tilts his head, eyes searching.

On closer inspection, he realises that it’s the beginning of a bruise peeking out from under his collar, and he can see scratches just barely hidden beneath the collar. He sucks in a sharp breath, questions running through his head. Why was Doyoung injured? Who caused the injuries? Did he get into a fight?

His brain begins to run through all the possible scenarios, starting from ‘his parents beating him’ before quickly dismissing that, knowing that Doyoung’s parents were absent. Could it be that the police really was chasing after Doyoung and he almost got caught last night? Jaehyun wavers, unsure between blurting out his questions and leaving the matter alone.

Doyoung snuffles, an oddly cute sound coming from the standoffish boy, and Jaehyun darts out, not wanting to be caught staring at him. The sight of his injuries and his obtrusive thoughts remain with Jaehyun for the rest of the day, and he promises himself that he’ll confront Doyoung about it the next day. The student council president can’t just turn a blind eye to possible fights happening on campus, right?

-

He stays back again after Chemistry when the rest of the class leaves for lunch, walking towards Doyoung. “Hey, Doyoung.” Jaehyun murmurs softly, not wanting to wake him so abruptly.

“What do you want, pres?” Doyoung says, unmoving. Jaehyun stiffens at the casual use of the nickname, unsure if Doyoung meant it in a hostile manner. “I’m Jaehyun.” He says hesitantly.

“What do you want?” Doyoung repeats gruffly. “If it’s nothing important, I’d like to go back to sleep.” It’s the longest sentence Doyoung’s said to Jaehyun, and judging by the gossip spreading like wildfire, it’s safe to assume that it’s the longest sentence Doyoung has said at all to anyone in the school.

Jaehyun shifts from foot to foot uneasily. “Well, the other day…I saw your injuries.”

Doyoung stiffens noticeably, and raises his head up. Jaehyun almost loses all his nerve when Doyoung makes eye contact with him, gaze unwavering. “And? Are you going to report me now? Get me expelled?”

He waves his hands, surprised that Doyoung would think of that at all. “No, of course not! I’m worried for your health, and if you’re in any trouble, please know that you’re free to approach any of our school’s counsellors for help.” Jaehyun says, the last part recited from memory.

Doyoung holds his gaze for a while more, eyes piercing. It’s noon, and the light from the afternoon sun brightens the classroom, and Jaehyun can almost see himself reflected back in Doyoung’s eyes for a moment. “I don’t need a shrink, if that’s what you’re asking, pres.” Doyoung says, voice significantly calmer.

Jaehyun wants to argue back, wants to ask Doyoung where the hell his injuries came from, but one glance at Doyoung and he knows that it’d be impossible to pry any information out of him at this point. “Sleep well,” is all he says, moving past Doyoung to leave the classroom.

It’s not a problem. He just has to try harder.

-

‘Trying harder’ proves unexpectedly difficult, as peak season arrives, and both his academic workload and student council duties increase exponentially. He hurries between the staff office, student council room and his classes, desperately trying to liaise with the staff on the upcoming basketball game as well as the inventory for their school’s band inventory.

When he’s not in school desperately trying to juggle his activities, he’s at cram school, and when he’s not at cram school, he’s at home, trying to squeeze in just a bit more information about organic chemistry into his head.

And so, the next time Jaehyun get the chance to talk to Doyoung, it’s completely coincidental. He’s rushing back home after staying late in school to finish up a student council project, and he stops by the convenience store to grab his usual popsicle. The cashier is different this time, and she greets Jaehyun with a smile and a wave. He’s pretty sure she’s in the same school as him—hard not to be, when there’s only two schools in the entire town.

This time, Doyoung speaks to him first. Jaehyun almost jumps when he hears Doyoung’s voice, smooth and lilting. “Popsicles in this weather?” Doyoung raises an eyebrow, and Jaehyun’s picks up (from his shock).

“Buying instant noodles again?” Jaehyun says, doing a once-over on Doyoung. He notices that the boy is wearing the same pair of ratty shoes, and he doesn’t have a coat or a jacket on. It’s below ten degrees outside. “Aren’t you cold?” Jaehyun asks with obvious concern, and he can almost see the Doyoung startle at the unexpected question.

He hesitates for a while. “I don’t get cold easily.” Doyoung mutters, the slight shiver in his arms betraying him as the store door swings open, bringing in a gush of cold air.

Jaehyun really shouldn’t be this concerned towards a boy he barely knew outside school campus, but he can’t help it. “Here, you can take my jacket. My house is very near here, anyway.” Jaehyun shrugs off his coat and holds it out to Doyoung, who looks at the coat like how someone would look at a ticking bomb.

Obviously, Doyoung doesn’t take it. “I don’t need your jacket,” Doyoung says shortly, already beginning to turn around and walk away from Jaehyun. “No, seriously! If you catch hypothermia it’s not going to be good for your grades.” He insists, jerking the coat at Doyoung, tone genuine.

Doyoung turns around slowly to stare at Jaehyun, gaze as chilly as the weather outside. “I said, I don’t need your jacket.” He turns around and walks out of the store empty-handed, and Jaehyun is left standing alone in the middle of aisle, one arm outstretched towards Doyoung’s retreating back.

**Author's Note:**

> if dy's characterisation seems a little ooc for u, just rmr that he has to keep his bad boy aura okay his character will develop more soon and become his usual smartass self!! not sure how many chapters this fic will have but should be max 4-5! any feedback is welcome :>>
> 
>   
my twitter is apollohyucks!


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